Ecology drives a global network of gene exchange connecting the human microbiome

Chris S. Smillie, Mark B. Smith, Jonathan Friedman, Otto X. Cordero, Lawrence A. David and Eric J. Alm ()
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Chris S. Smillie: Computational and Systems Biology Initiative, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mark B. Smith: Microbiology Graduate Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Jonathan Friedman: Computational and Systems Biology Initiative, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Otto X. Cordero: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Lawrence A. David: Society of Fellows, Harvard University
Eric J. Alm: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Nature, 2011, vol. 480, issue 7376, 241-244

Abstract: Gene swapping in the human microbiome Horizontal gene transfer — the exchange of genetic material between different species or lineages — is an important factor in bacterial evolution. A study of human microbiome data comprising more than 2,000 full bacterial genomes shows that this environment is a hotbed of horizontal gene transfer: pairs of bacteria isolated from the human body are 25-fold more likely to share transferred DNA than pairs from other environments. Thus microbial ecology — rather than phylogeny or geography — is the most important driver of the patterns of horizontal gene exchange. Further analysis revealed 42 unique antibiotic-resistance genes that had been transferred between human and agricultural isolates, and 43 transfers across national borders.

Date: 2011
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DOI: 10.1038/nature10571

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